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I don't think so, Lee Chong Wei is still their posterboy and as long as he's still winning, they'll always have someone flying the Yonex flag. Not to mention that their sales are still quite high worldwide.

On a side note though, I do agree Adidas have missed a golden opportunity to make inroads into Indonesia.

In my opinion, the problem for Evil Empire will come after LCW and TH retires. They do not have figure for their brand ambassador. They have lost Axelsen. Evil empire will hope for another star to emerge soon enough.

The reign of evil empire has been lasting since the 70s. They still sponsor many international tournaments. Following the retirements of both TH and LCW, there're still some WS and MD sponsored by them.

The current sponsorship system are more colorful, and this might be a double-edged sword for the development of badminton to its future. Let's see whether all of these recent changes bring lots of positive impact... or otherwise....

This is really a new but refreshing development in badminton, although many of the contractual details are not available to us just yet.

For example the following:

1. Obligation to participate in tournaments. This may conflict with the National Association (NA) who is in charge of the selection process. Sponsors of coaches may also influence the outcome, thus giving way to possible incidents of "conflict of interest"..

2. As regards team outfit, I think team members will continue to wear the same colours and design as required by BWF but with the player's sponsor(s) shown somewhere on the attire. Again BWF/NA rules must be adhered to.

3. What about those who are not selected to represent the country even in recognised tournaments like the SS, GP, etc? Can the sponsor side-step the NA and send their sponsored players?

4. What about players who are unable to meet their sponsor's obligations either through sickness, injury, loss of form, early-round defeats, etc? They still get their salary when paid by their NA which employed them before.

5. What about players who did not get any sponsor, although this is unlikely? I presume the NA will pay them.

6. Rewards for attaining a higher world ranking? For winning tournaments I would think the player will receive special bonuses, the quantum of which will depend on BWF's grading of such events.

7. Review/Assessment: Will there be a periodical review of the player's contract? Is there a minimum contract period of say one year, two years or more? What about players who are discarded? Is there another common Auction Day for bidding of the players?

Of course there are more relevant questions, such as those relating to players' penalties and recourse to sponsors.

It is interesting to know how much is the highest contract (Butet's) and the lowest. But whatever the case PBSI still gets 5%.

Will other countries follow suite? It is left to be seen but this "Auction" method seems to be better geared to the professional player than the much hotly debated "independent player" so strongly advocated by some BC members that tried to emulate the tennis professionals.